CMI notes excess deaths remain low

During the coronavirus pandemic, the Continuous Mortality Investigation (CMI) is publishing weekly UK mortality analysis through its mortality monitor. This week’s update shows the position as at week 24 of 2020 (6 to 12 June) based on provisional England & Wales deaths data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 23 June 2020.

The key points of this update are:

  • There were 4% more deaths registered in week 24 of 2020 than if death rates had been the same as week 24 of 2019. The increase was 4% in week 23 and 17% in week 22.
     
  • There have been around 63,500 more deaths in the UK from the start of the pandemic to 12 June 2020 than if mortality rates were similar to those experienced in 2019.
     
  • Since week 21, the number of deaths registered with COVID-19 mentioned on the death certificate has exceeded the number of ‘excess’ deaths that we’ve seen relative to 2019.

Cobus Daneel, Chair of the CMI Mortality Projections Committee said: “The latest ONS data shows similar results to the previous week, with around 400 ‘excess’ deaths above those we might expect at this time of year. This is a huge fall from the peak of the pandemic, which had over 13,000 excess deaths in a week.”

All mortality monitor weekly updates are publicly available on the mortality monitor page.

~ENDS~

Notes to editors

  1. “Excess” deaths are the difference between actual deaths in 2020, and those that we would expect if mortality rates had been the same as in 2019.

Contact
Sonia Sequeira, Media Relations Manager, IFoA
Tel: 07525 592 198
Email: sonia.sequeira@actuaries.org.uk

About the Continuous Mortality Investigation

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The CMI’s mission is to produce high-quality impartial analysis, standard tables and models of mortality and morbidity for long-term insurance products and pension scheme liabilities on behalf of subscribers and, in doing so, to further actuarial understanding.

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